"Leave me? You can't even find a job. What are you going to do, take your daughter and beg on the streets?"

"Unless you've got the power to bring down both the Weiss family and the Perrys, what right do you have to stop us?"

I stood there, speechless. My body went cold.

If only I'd known. If only I'd known... I hated my younger self for being so blinded by love, for believing every honeyed lie that came out of that worthless man's mouth.

I hadn't just ruined my own life. I'd dragged my daughter down with me.

The thought squeezed the air from my lungs.

No.

There was still time.

Mia Perry was young. I could find a way to take her and leave the Perry family behind, far from all of this.

But my plans fell apart almost immediately.

Mia came home from school that afternoon. I tested the waters, asking casually: if Mommy and Daddy got a divorce, who would she rather stay with?

She didn't hesitate. She threw herself into Lambert's arms, beaming.

"Daddy, obviously! I see how hard he works to give me a better life. What have you ever done?"

"When I grow up, I'm marrying into the Weiss family and living the good life. If you want to go suffer, go ahead. I'm not going with you."

"And Aunt Grace is going to be my mother-in-law! Just thinking about it makes me so happy."

The ground dropped out from under me. I stared at the daughter I'd raised with my own two hands. She'd always been so sweet, so obedient. Always clinging to me, saying Mommy works the hardest, I love Mommy the most. My little angel. How had she turned into this?

Could a child this young really fake it so perfectly? Fool a grown woman without a single crack?

"If you're going to leave, then leave already. Nobody's stopping you. But don't go back on your word!"

"Aunt Grace gets upset every time she sees you. Once you're gone, she can come over and spend time with me and Daddy."

Every word from my daughter's mouth was a blade, slicing my heart into ribbons.

"That's my girl. Good taste and good judgment!" Lambert crowed, puffing up with pride. The words landed like a slap across my face.

So Mia was willing? She actually wanted this? Then what had all my sacrifice in my past life been for?

No. She was just a child. She didn't know any better. I couldn't hold it against her.

I stumbled forward, desperate to hold her, but she darted behind Lambert like a startled animal.

"Don't touch me! Get out of this house!"

"If you really cared about me, you wouldn't be standing in my way, acting like you know what's best for me."

"Daddy, make her leave! I don't want her anymore!"

After all that, the divorce was inevitable.

Lambert used Mia's rejection as his excuse and threw me out the door.

"Minnie, we were married. I wasn't planning to be this cruel. But you've got no one to blame but yourself. Your own daughter can't stand the sight of you. If I were you, I'd walk into traffic and save everyone the trouble."

Mia grabbed a fistful of her allowance and tossed it on the ground at my feet, looking down at me like I was nothing.

"Consider that my contribution to your retirement fund. Don't come back looking for me. I'm sick of seeing your face."

"Daddy, call Aunt Grace! I can't wait to tell her the good news. Hee hee!"

I stood in front of the closed door for a long time, unable to move.

I drifted through the streets like a ghost, deaf to the noise and bustle around me.

I found myself standing by the river, watching the churning water, my mind completely blank.

After being reborn, I'd been holding on by sheer willpower, determined to get my daughter out before things spiraled to their worst.

But she didn't want to come.

Rod Weiss. Pinecrest General Hospital. ICU.

A text from an unknown number. Cryptic, out of nowhere. It shattered my trance before I could even think about who sent it. The words on the screen hit me like cold water, and suddenly I was wide awake.

Rod Weiss was the only son of the wealthiest family in Pinecrest, and Grace Cobb's husband.

At that moment, news of his coma hadn't reached the outside world. But I'd been reborn, and I knew the truth: he didn't have long to live.

In the future, everything the Weiss family owned would pass to Grace and her son. No wonder she had the audacity to act the way she did.

That's right.

A memory surfaced, sharp and sudden. Something I'd overheard Lambert say in my previous life. I broke into a run toward the hospital without a second thought.

No matter what it took, the debts of my past life would be repaid.

And Grace Cobb would be first.

But things didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. The Weiss family had locked down the entire floor where the hospital room was located, terrified of a leak. Ordinary people couldn't get anywhere near it.

I didn't give up. I crouched in the corridor and waited for an opening.

Before I could come up with a plan, a group of bodyguards in black surrounded me.

"Name your price. Finding this place means you've got some skill."

"But if a single word of this gets out, the Weiss family will make sure you regret it."

Phyllis Weiss fixed me with an icy stare, her gaze cutting like a blade.

They'd mistaken me for a reporter sniffing around for a story. The frustration surging through my chest nearly boiled over, but it dissolved the instant I noticed the silver streaking through the old woman's temples.

She was a mother. Just like me, sick with worry over a child whose future hung in the balance.

I clenched my jaw. No more hesitation. The words I'd been turning over in my mind for so long finally spilled out.

"Rory Abbott is Grace Cobb's illegitimate child. He has no blood relation to the Weiss family whatsoever. And he has severe autism."

"I understand that news of having no heir would be devastating for the family right now. But are you truly willing to hand over everything the Weiss family has built to an outsider whose origins you can't even verify?"

"The Weiss family didn't hold on to the top of Pinecrest by making foolish choices. I trust you'll know what to do."

The color drained from Phyllis's face. Storm clouds gathered behind her eyes, and the jade bangle on her wrist caught the light, its hairline fracture suddenly visible.

But she hadn't survived decades in the business world for nothing. Within moments, she reined in her composure.

"I'll investigate whether this is true. But until the Weiss family reaches a final decision, I expect not a whisper of this to reach anyone outside these walls."

If I hadn't been desperate to bring Grace down, I never would have exposed another family's secrets. Phyllis's condition was more than reasonable.

I agreed without hesitation.

If the Weiss family cut Grace loose, the childhood betrothal would collapse on its own.

After all these years with Lambert Perry, I'd finally learned one bitter truth: feelings meant nothing when real money was on the table.

Confirming the truth would take time. In the meantime, I needed to survive.

At Phyllis's suggestion, I stayed on at the hospital as a caregiver to make ends meet. In my spare hours, I picked up my old craft again, sketching fashion designs.

After all, this was a fresh start. I'd need to earn my own living from here on out.

But Lambert had always sneered at my work. Confidence wasn't exactly something I had in abundance.

On top of that, after Mia was born, I'd rarely had the chance to throw myself fully into anything of my own. I'd barely kept up with trends in the industry.

Forget it. Overthinking won't help.

I'd raised my daughter with my own two hands. We'd never been apart, not once.

Phyllis was desperate for answers. Within days, she had the paternity test results in hand.

The moment I heard, I couldn't hold back any longer. I slipped away to the school gates, just to catch a glimpse of my girl.

What I saw made my blood run cold.

"Mia Perry! I've told you eight hundred times to look after Rory at school. What have you been doing?!"

"Useless little brat. Just like your mother."

Grace had Mia's ear twisted between her fingers, spitting venom, all because her precious son had wet his pants and no one had changed him fast enough.

My daughter's face was flushed scarlet. She flinched and cowered, unable to get away, stammering apology after apology through trembling lips.

"Aunt Grace, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time. Please give me one more chance."

Lambert stood right there beside them like a bystander, impatience written all over his face.

I couldn't hold back. I rushed over and pulled my daughter free, gently patting her back to soothe her.

"Don't be scared. It's okay. Mommy's here."

The small body beneath my hands went stiff, and my tears fell before I could stop them.

"Lambert, are you even human? How can you betray your own daughter's trust like this?"

"No matter what, Mia is your flesh and blood. You just stood there and watched someone else bully and hit her."

Lambert glanced at me sideways, a careless smirk on his lips.

"Mia doesn't know how to behave. Grace is willing to discipline her as her future mother-in-law. That's Mia's good fortune."

"The one who has no business meddling here is you. What's the matter? Left home and realized you can't even feed yourself? Regretting it already?"

I had no desire to argue with him. I tightened my arms around my daughter.

"If she's so keen on discipline, she should start with her own kid. Mia is still little. She's not obligated to wait on your precious prince."

"Come on, sweetheart. Mommy found a job. Let's go."

I thought these past few days would have been enough for Mia to see that staying with Lambert was a mistake. But those small hands shoved me away without mercy, and she ran to Grace, tilting her face up with a desperate, pleasing smile.

"Aunt Grace, I'll take better care of Rory from now on. Please don't send me away."

Grace arched an eyebrow, triumph dripping from every pore.

"You heard her. Your own daughter can't stand you. Honestly, I almost feel sorry for you."

"Take the hint and stay away. Stop showing up and making everyone sick."

Lambert's eyes stayed locked on Grace the entire time, his expression one of doting adoration, as if every word from her mouth were gospel.

People streamed past in every direction. I stood there, mortified, my face burning like a boiled shrimp.

Grace wasn't done with me. She pulled out an invitation card, a smile playing on her lips.

"To show how much we value Mia, I've arranged a grand engagement banquet."

"As Mia's birth mother, I do hope you'll attend on time."

I wanted nothing more than to photograph that smug face and show it to Mrs. Weiss Sr.

Her husband was lying in a hospital bed, hanging between life and death, and she had the leisure to throw a party.

Bound by my agreement not to reveal Rod's condition, I swallowed the words before they left my mouth.

Lambert caught the look on my face and took it for petulance.

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't be invited at all. Save Mia the embarrassment."

"Grace is too generous with you. That's the only reason you think she's someone you can push around. With her status, she doesn't need to lower herself like this."

"Marrying into the Weiss family is the greatest stroke of luck Mia will ever have. If you dare ruin this for me, you'll never see her again."

That bone-deep favoritism, that shameless devotion to Grace, reignited the fury inside me.

A cold laugh escaped my throat. Word by word, I peeled back Grace's mask for all to hear.

"Lambert, you're worse than an animal. You'd sell your own daughter just to claw your way into the Weiss family."

"Too bad your precious first love has been lying through her teeth, fooling everyone. Rory isn't Rod Weiss's biological son."

The words landed like a bomb. Gasps rippled through the crowd, drawing even more onlookers who stopped mid-stride, eyes darting between Grace and the boy at her side.

Rory kept his head bowed throughout, silent, as if he existed somewhere beyond the reach of this world.

Grace had managed to string the wealthiest family in Pinecrest along without anyone catching on. She was no amateur.

In the blink of an eye, fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and her trembling, pitiful voice tugged effortlessly at every stranger's heartstrings.